Bayer still on course for treble
Bayer Leverkusen's treble bid remains alive today after they defeated understrength Deportivo La Coruna 3-1 in Spain to reach the Champions League quarterfinals at the expense of Arsenal.
Leverkusen lead the Bundesliga, are through to the German Cup Final, and are still on course for European glory.
The key match to the outcome of Group D was in Coruna, where Deportivo coach Javier Irureta rested many of his top players.
His side did not need to win the match, having already qualified and it was the Germans who dominated.
Michael Ballack powered home a 34th-minute header for the opening goal and Bernd Schneider bundled their second over the line in the 53rd minute.
Deportivo got a goal back with 15 minutes left to play but Oliver Neuville headed a third goal for the Germans in the 86th minute.
In Group C Panathinaikos, who needed to draw to reach the quarter-finals, did just that, holding Real Madrid 2-2 in Athens. In the group's other match Porto lost 2-0 at Sparta Prague.
Meanwhile, AC Milan must follow up their first home win of 2002 with a second if they are to avoid the a UEFA Cup exit at the hands of Hapoel Tel Aviv in the San Siro tonight.
The Israelis, who knocked out Chelsea, have a l-0 advantage after the first leg which was played in neutral Nicosia.
But Milan broke their run of poor home form on Sunday with a 2-1 defeat of Torino and are determined to end their difficult season with silverware. However, star striker Andrei Shevchenko is still out after failing to shake off a leg injury. The Ukrainian is expected to return to training within the next fortnight. Javi Moreno and Javi Mari are likely to lead the attack tonight.
Hapoel go into the match buoyed by the news that coach Dror Kashtan has agreed a two-year extension to his contract.
"The most important thing for us is not to concede a goal in the opening minutes," said Kashtan.
"If we steal a goal it will be fantastic for us. We will play under huge pressure and I hope we will know how to control it."
